January is cervical cancer awareness month and Exquisite Magazine has started a campaign ‘#smearit’ in support of cervical cancer prevention.

This is to encourage ladies to get their pap smear done and #getscreened. Also #spreadtheword as #earlydetection is key.

Everyone is encouraged to also join the #smearit selfie challenge by posting a picture of themselves with their lipstick smeared on their faces. After which they can nominate any of their friends and family to join in the fun.

This is an interesting and fun way of creating more awareness for a serious form of cancer that is 100% preventable.

There are Lots of freebies for everyone.

The Exquisite Magazine Cervical Cancer Prevention Week provides us with an opportunity to do just that! January 2017 is the global cervical cancer awareness month and February 4th, 2017 is World Cancer Day and there’s no better time to go for a screening and create awareness about this than now!

Every hour in Nigeria, women die of cervical cancer, a disease that is largely preventable thanks to annual Pap Smear and HPV vaccination.

Unfortunately, a lot of people; do not go for their yearly screenings, have not had the vaccination and do not know that early detection is key to increasing survival rates. It is very important that we educate everyone about the disease, its symptoms and ways to prevent and treat it.

Cervical cancer screening can help detect abnormal cells before they turn into cancer. Most deaths from cervical cancer can be prevented by regular screening tests and follow-up care.

The EMAC Cervical Cancer Prevention Week seeks to spread the word about the important steps that women need to take to stay healthy and encourage parents about how important it is for Pre-teens to get HPV (Human papilloma virus) vaccine, both girls, and boys.

You could also be a part of the campaign by doing the following;

display our posters and leaflets in hospitals, libraries, salons, spas, church and more

put the web badge on your website

donate to support our cervical cancer awareness programs which include free screening and treatment for early stages of pre-cancer cells, vaccination for children in public schools.

In the US, if a woman is under 40 years or so, she is to get a pap smear once every 3-5 years (not annually) unless if she has a history of cancer in her family. Is it different in Nigeria? Why so? My cousin, an American trained doctor specializing in Dermatology, mentioned that the risk of cervical cancer in Africa is high. Does this have something to do with the timing here?

Good initiative, truly. I would have loved to see the words “pap smear” in the photo. You want to catch people’s attention and unfortunately the popular way is through images not long texts.

I do hope we also include this in our films, TV shows, web series, and on the radio. Don’t dedicate an entire episode to it or an entire movie. Rather include it as a 5-10 minute segment. Even just having a character say she’s making an appointment for a paper smear followed by a short why. That way it’s presented as a part of life, something we want to make routine.